Stockton man facing child porn charges

May 6, 2014

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Staff Writer

BALTIMORE — A Stockton man has been indicted on child porn charges in U.S. District Court, federal prosecutors announced Monday.

A federal grand jury on May 1 indicted Laiton Blake Witkowski, 41, on charges of production, distribution and possession of child pornography. Witkowski made an initial appearance Monday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, and is scheduled for a detention hearing today, according to U.S. Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Marcia Murphy.

Prosecutors allege in the seven-count indictment that, between 2007 and 2010, Witkowski took sexually explicit photos and video of two minor females without their knowledge. One image is of a victim who appears to be sleeping. A second victim was photographed using the restroom.

Prosecutors also allege Witkowski distributed and possessed other images of child pornography, including images of prepubescent children being sexually abused. The indictment says police searched his home and found three computers containing the images and videos, as well as a collection of 14 DVDs and CDs with explicit content.

Witkowski had been charged in Worcester County in February on 17 similar charges, including child porn possession, third- and fourth-degree sex offenses, and sexual abuse of a minor. However, because federal prosecutors have taken over the case, Witkowski no longer will be prosecuted in Worcester County.

The investigation into Witkowski began when a “a video of investigative interest” was located by the Maryland State Police Computer Crimes Unit, during another investigation of online offenders sharing child pornography. When police saw the video, which showed a minor female engaged in a sex act with an adult male, they tracked down the computer’s Internet protocol address.

That led police to the physical home of the computer, according to charging documents filed in Worcester County Circuit Court, at the home of Joanna Witkowski in Stockton. Police in February interviewed her, and found that her son Laiton also lived in the home.

In his bedroom, police said they found photographs of young girls and other erotica. They also found the offending video in question that started their search on one of his laptop computers. He was not home at the time, police reported, because he was away at his job as a long-haul trucker.

Later that day, police reported, they received a phone call from Witkowski himself. He stated he has “a serious problem with child pornography” and claimed all the child pornography in the house was his, according to the police report filed Feb. 7 by detective Alex Kagan with the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation. A warrant was then issued for his arrest.

If convicted, Witkowski could face 15 to 30 years in prison for each of the two counts of production of child pornography. Distribution of child pornography brings five to 20 years in prison. For each of the four counts of possession of child pornography, the maximum sentence is 20 years.